Nut-lock.



PATENTED DEC. 31, 1907.

H. J. BERKLEY.

NUT LOG-K.

APPLICATION FILED P3127, 1907.

mart n srarns rarnnr orrrca HENRY J. BERKLEY, or BALTIMO E, MARYLAND, .issioxou OFONE-HALF TO CHARLES r.

CORNING, or nxt rmoan MARYLAND.

j NUT-Loon Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1907.

Application fil February 27, 1907. Serial No. 359,541.

To all whom it may concern.-

\ Beat known that I, HENRY J. BERKLEY, acitizenlo'f the United States, residing at Baliimora'z in the' State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improve- .ments in Rut-Locks, of which the following is a specification.

.T his invention relates to improvements in nut locks and particularly to that class of nut locks in which the lock has the form of a split ri g or washer.

The invention in its present form is particularly an improvement on the-nut lock shown and described in the U S. Patent Number 7 50,796 granted to me February 2nd, 1904.

After considerable experiment I have found that the expense incident to the maintenance of the dies and tools in the manufacture of nut locks is so great as to render them commercially impracticable,thedies wearing out during the manufacture of a few thousand washers in addition to the fact that the Washers have to be handled several times and subjected to several operations before they are completed.

By my present invention these oojections have been avoided and the washers can be formed by the simple operation of a die whose construction and cutting edges are such as to be maintained throughout the stamping 01 large numbers of washers.

vThe object therefore of mypresent invention ist'o provide an improved construction 7f lock washer which shall be interposed between the nut and the structure to which the nut is tobe rigidly held so as to engage said structure and. nut to prevent any loosening movement of the'latter as the result of jars or vibrations.

The invention consists in the novel construction of the washer as will presently be described and specifically claimed.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention in which- Figure 1 shows a vertical sectional view through a metal structure such as a rail and fish plates which are bolted together and locked. by my improved spring washer. Fig. 2 illustrates a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 shows a plan or face view of the washer. Figs. 4 and 5 edge views of the same. Figs. 6 and. 7 illustrate the washer having tangs or flanges adjacent to its edge which are especially designed for use in securing parts of wood structures.

Referring to the drawing by numerals, 1, designates a Hat split washer of a circular form and of auniform thickness and having the usual central bolt opening, 2.

A slot 3 is formed in the washer and. extends in a crosswise direction from the periphery of the washer plate to the inner central bolt opening, 2, thereof. This slot increases in width as it extends from the periphery toward the'central opening so that at the said central opening, it has its greatest width, as indicated at, 4.. The formation of this cross slot serves to separate or split the washer thus forming two ends. One end, 5, of the washer has a straight edge, 6, which latter however has a sharpened edge, 7, projecting toward one side, in the present instance termed the inner side, because it is the side that contacts with the surface such as, 8, in Fig. 1, against which the nut, 9, forces it. This entire end, 5, of the washer also curves inwardly,the

, curve extending from said straight edge for a distance covering practically about one-- third of the entire circumference of the washer plate. The other or opposite end, 10, of the washer preferably has a pointed prong, 11, approximately at the periphery of the washer and from said peripheral point this prong gradually increases in width as it recedes from said point until it merges into the wall, 12, of the central opening, 2. In cross-section or in the direction indicated by the dart in Fig. 3 this prong, 11, of the washer is slightly concave as at, 13, on its outer surface against which the nut contacts, while the inner surface, 14, of said prong is slightly convex because the uniformity of thickness is maintained throughout the washer plate. This concavo-convex formation of the prong throws the periphery of (the prong in the plane outsideof the plane of the inner edge, 15, thereof and thus enables the prong to spring or yield to readily engage the faces of the nut as the latter travels over said inner edge and avoids the necessity of grinding or in some other manner making the inner edge, 15, thinner to enable the nut to be readily turned over said edge. In addition to the c'oncavoconvex formation of the prong, 11, the entire nd, 10, of said washer is curved outward for circumferential distance equal to about which is diametrically opposite to the-slot being flat; the end, 5, which curves or bends inwardly in a plane to one side of the fiat portion, and the other end, 10, which curves or bends outwardly in a plane to the other side of the flat portion, as plainly seen in Fi 5.

lhe forms shown in Figs. 6 and 7 are constructed like the form shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive with the omission of the cutting edge, 7, and the substitution of'lateral tangs, 17, formed at the outer circular edge or periphery, which when such washeris used in looking nuts with wood structures will be embedded in the wood to prevent rotation of the washer. A

Having thus described my invention what mare! I claim as new and desire to secure by letters patent is:

The herein described nut-lock consisting of a split circular plate having a centra which increases in width as it recedes circumferentially from the slot, said prong being concavo-convex longitudinally.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY J. BERKLEY.

\Vitnesses:

CHAS. B. MANN, G. FERDINAND VoGr. 

